


This War of Mine

by OctoberSnow



Category: Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, Fusion Fall, Samurai Jack (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, So I know this fandom's been dead for a while, but i couldn't get this story out of my head
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-11-02
Packaged: 2018-07-18 13:11:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7316482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OctoberSnow/pseuds/OctoberSnow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the midst of the Fusion War,Samurai Jack offers to train Frankie in close combat in order to defend the Foster Home. What starts as a simple crush develops into something more complicated and consuming than either of them want it to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thinking about how the latest season of Samurai Jack was coming out (after 10 years! Can you believe that?), and in playing Fusion Fall years ago, I had the weirdest urge to write Jack and Frankie, one of my favorite CN female characters, interacting together and seeing how I wanted it to develop from there. It got a little out of control, but maybe in a good way. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Another day, another Fusion Fighters meeting.

At least, it felt like they’ve been having one every day for the past month. Was it just her? Yeah okay, maybe it was just her.

Being one of the mission providers of her districts, Frankie was required to attend all of these meetings in order to discuss which matters took priority in terms of missions (Fusions spawning rapidly in certain districts, Fusion leaders popping out of the ground to terrorize the suburbs), and which matters could be set aside or even completely disregarded (sending the fighters on a coffee run because some leaders just can’t keep their temper in check without a shot of espresso in their system).

Really? It’s like the fighters are being seen less as children fighting a war and more like errand dogs.

Regardless, due to the fact that their planet was in danger of being literally swallowed whole by another bigger planet, nearly everyone set aside their differences and feuds in order to combat the larger evil. Heroes, villains, humans, demons – they all sat beside each other and shared the same water cooler with the full realization that the only way to win was through working together.

Despite being half-awake and mildly pissed at only getting three hours of sleep last night, Frankie felt a tug of warmth in her chest and smiled faintly.

As Dexter reached the next ‘pressing matter’ on the large holographic monitor at the head of the meeting table, Frankie glanced around at the other mission providers with her chin resting in her hand. Most of the younger ones were dozing or staring through one of the windows with thoughts far away from the meeting.

Most of the older ones (and Frankie felt torn to admit that she was one of them), had their heads turned to Dexter with the occasional nod, but their eyes were dead tired. Now that Frankie started to wake up, she noticed that a lot of the younger leaders had the same look in their eyes.

They were tired of this war, every single one of them. They just wanted to wake up one day and not have to worry about donning armor and cleaning their weapons out of necessity, because fusion matter has this nasty habit of coagulating on everything it touched. They wanted to walk out of their house and not run into a snarling green monster on their way to pick up milk.

And, most importantly, Frankie just wanted to sleep past six again.

Her green eyes continued their lazy little roam around the room until they landed on one particular person sitting across and two seats away from her.

Samurai Jack – and _every_ single fusion fighter Frankie talked to called him ‘Samurai Jack’, never just ‘Jack’- had one ear turned to Dexter while the other listened to whatever the burly redheaded guy with the moustache was saying to him in a hushed tone.

Whatever the Scotsman said to him was enough to make a smile tug at the corner of the samurai’s mouth before it became a flat, tired line again. Frankie had never been seated close enough to Jack to actually talk to him, but she wondered what she might say if she ever got the chance.

She never got to the meetings early enough to get any of the good seats (the ones closest to the windows or the door), and while some leaders hardly attended any meetings because they needed to hold the fort down while the others were away, the room always filled up fast.

Even though Jack was always one of the first people to attend, his preferred seating wasn’t near any windows or the door or even the water cooler. It was always one of the seats closest to the guides or leaders who were at the front, giving their speech.

Her first impression of Jack was that he cared a lot about how things were being organized around the districts. Or, at the least, he cared at all.

Anyone who ever talked about Jack always talked about how strong and smart he was, how deep his words were. He was a plain and simple human being with no fancy watches or gadgets to his name, only a sword. Yet everyone admired and respected him because he could go toe-to-toe with any monster and be sure to destroy it. He also used his words sparingly, but whenever he talked everyone listened because his voice was that hypnotizing, apparently.

And despite all that, he was surprisingly very humble and kind. That’s what everyone told her, at least.

Frankie had never interacted with him, not even once. Being one of the strongest leaders of the Resistance, his station was in the most dangerous part of the map – the Darklands or whatever. Frankie never went there because even though she was a plain and simple human being as well, she lacked fighting skills and weapon training to a point where she considered herself a liability.

So what if she’d never had the chance to take up martial arts while she was running a house full of imaginary beings? Boxing back in high school never took her far anyway.

Still, knowing that Jack was of the tier to be stationed at a place where most fighters weren’t powerful enough to go by themselves told Frankie a lot about him beyond the words of his admiring fighter fans.

And above all that, he was cute as hell. Not cute in the way that she wanted to pinch his cheeks, but cute in the way that she wanted to sit in his lap and make out with him for five hours. He had these large dark eyes, a sharp jawline and long, night black hair pulled up into a topknot. A single word had never passed between them, but she already had a crush. How could she not have a thing for him when the only things people say about him are good? Not to mention he was one of the few actual men at the table, a lot of the leaders not even old enough to drive.

Being twenty-two and single since high school, Frankie was finding it harder not to take interest in a young attractive man. Especially a young attractive man who could destroy a whole horde of fusions and clean his sword in time for dinner.

Not gonna lie, Frankie found that _hot_.

Oh god, how long had she been staring at him? Apparently long enough to get the Scotsman’s notice. Oh great, now he’s smirking at her and whispering something else to Jack. Jack turned his head with a furrowed brow, paying a bit more attention to what his friend was saying.

Frankie felt her face heat up and she looked away quickly, feeling her heart speed up just the tiniest bit knowing she’d been caught staring. She felt eyes on her, and looked back almost shyly.

Jack was looking at her now, his dark eyes mildly inquisitive. His lips turned up in a soft smile at her, and her stomach somersaulted. Somehow she managed to smile back, just a tiny grin before she tore her eyes away and brought her mug to her lips, which were suddenly parched.

Her coffee had gone cold a long time ago, but she focused on it instead of the man sitting a few seats away from her.

When she scraped up enough courage to look over at him again, Jack had his focus back on Dexter, who seemed to be wrapping up the meeting. The Scotsman winked at her and by now she was pretty sure that her face was as red as her hair.

What exactly did he say to Jack?

The meeting ended and everyone began to get up out of their seats, some staying to talk with others while the rest made a beeline for the door. Frankie shot out of her seat, startling Deedee, who was sitting beside her.

She made it a point not to look back at the samurai as she walked out of the room with a speed that was just below sprinting. Unfortunately, she wasn’t fast enough to not be stopped by Bubbles who wanted to tell her just how cute her hair looked today.

Frankie laughed. “Thanks, I literally just rolled out of bed and pulled it into a ponytail.” She couldn’t help but smile at Bubbles, who was always so… well, bubbly. Frankie wished she could be like her, but her naturally cynical nature squashed that thought.

Bubbles beamed back. “But you make it look good, and it’s a pretty color too.”

“Aye, the lassie’s been kissed by fire.”

Frankie’s brows shot up to her hairline as the Scotsman came up beside Bubbles with a broad grin on his wild-looking face. It was absurd just how tall and bulky he was, especially with Jack standing beside him, although Jack was at least six feet- oh god, Jack’s standing beside him looking at her. With those dark, cat-like eyes that seemed to stare straight past her eyes and into her soul.

The Scotsman was still talking. “And lemme tell you, any lass with hair that fiery has a spirit to match. Just ask me wife.”

Frankie’s smile was more of a grimace like someone stepped on her foot. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“And ye should. Saw you smilin’ at me friend during the meeting. Have you two met before?”

Frankie’s mouth went dry again, and she looked at Jack nervously. Before she could say anything, Jack replied with, “I don’t believe we have. Hello, I am Jack.” He bowed, that’s right, actually bowed when he said this and Frankie was stunned at the formality. It took her a second to remember that he was an actual medieval samurai, a walking piece of history. The way he greeted her was perfectly normal in his own time.

She grinned, and gave an awkward curtsy. She tried to think of something cooler to say than, “Hi, I’m Frankie,” but failed. The way he was smiling at her seemed to rob her of her usual wittiness and left her a nervous mess.

“You live in the large Foster Home, do you not?” He asked her, and she nodded dumbly before replying, “Yeah, I, uh, take care of imaginary friends and help my grandma around the house. It’s about as exciting as it sounds.”

“I haven’t had the chance to visit your home, but it does seem interesting.” Frankie wondered how much Jack knew about the Foster home. Did he know anything about her besides that she lived there? Probably not.

“Feel free to drop by whenever you like. Gotta warn you though, a lot of friends are pretty major fans of yours so you might want to bring a pen or two. Or three.” Jack chuckled, and the low rumble of it made Frankie bite her lip before she giggled a bit too. She suddenly remembered that Bubbles and Scotsman happened to be a part of the conversation and grinned broadly at them.

“You guys are always welcome too, of course. Let me know ahead of time so I can make snacks.”

There was a sly smile exchanged between Bubbles and the Scotsman, like they already knew all about Frankie’s little secret, and she grew nervous. Was it so obvious that Jack saw it too? She was pretty sure she only talked to Bubbles about the samurai once and it had nothing to do with how much she liked him.

Did she see Frankie stare at Jack like a creeper in some of the meetings? Did everyone see her do that?

God, they’ve only said a few things to each other and everyone already knew. They _knew._

Frankie pretended that she didn’t see their smiles.

“I shall be sure to visit you sometime,” Jack said with the hint of the laugh still in his voice. He and the Scotsman said their goodbyes and left the square, and Frankie began to walk to the transporter with Bubbles.

Bubbles turned to Frankie with sparkly anime-esque eyes. “So what do you think of him?”

“He’s pretty loud and brawny, but I think I like that about him. Plus his cat belt is cool.”

Bubble’s jaw dropped and Frankie had to hold back a laugh as they stood in front of the transporter stop. Bubble’s mouth began to work again as she hesitantly began with, “Well, I mean if you like the Scotsman like that-”

It was Frankie’s turn to be shocked. “What?! No! Geez, he’s…married for one. And he’s not really my type.”

Bubbles whispered it so low that Frankie’s ears barely heard it. “But Jack is.”

Frankie turned with one eyebrow cocked so high that it was hidden under her bangs. “What was that?”

The blonde heroine giggled and smirked, bumping shoulders with her. “Nothing,” she replied in a sing-song voice.

“No, seriously, what did you mean by that?” She was fully turned towards Bubbles now, not hearing the transporter as it dropped down from the sky and hissed to a stop in front of them. Bubbles’ smile began to widen slowly until she was grinning ear to ear.

“I mean that it was the cutest thing ever to see you two talk to each other. Girls only laugh like that when they’re around someone they like.”

Frankie wanted to drop to the pavement and die. If it was obvious to a fourteen-year-old girl, it was probably obvious to everyone else. Well, time to stay in her house forever and become old and husband-less like her grandma.

The driver of the transporter poked his head out of the door. “You girls hopping on?”

Frankie turned her head to him, but her eyes stayed on Bubbles with her devilish smile. “Hold on one more second.” She stepped closer to Bubbles and frantically whispered, “Is it that obvious?”

Bubbles giggled again. “Not really. I’m just good at figuring out these kinds of things. And if you’re wondering,” She leaned in and whispered, “He’s asked me about you too.”

In a bright streak of blue, Bubbles was gone, leaving Frankie with shaky legs and her hair messed up from the wind turbulence the blonde caused. She turned and stepped onto the transporter, muttering, “Foster’s home, please,” to the driver and sitting down across from two fighters who were staring at her with wide eyes.

Well, the secret was out. Frankie could only pray that Bubbles could keep it, although that was highly doubtful. She was probably on her way to tell her sisters all about it.

But…

…Why would Jack want to know anything about _her_? Frankie gave a dry laugh and settled the back of her head against the window, turning to stare out at the stretch of city below. Maybe Bubbles was getting her hopes up.

Whatever the case, she probably should’ve dropped by the grocery store to pick up more parmesan for dinner. Bloo was terrible about sharing the parmesan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where we start getting into the good stuff, with Jack and Frankie making plans to train. I have a lot of stuff happening in July, so updates might not be as frequent. Feel free to tell me what you think of the story so far!

 

At least three weeks passed before she saw Jack again. He wasn’t at the last meeting; something about an outbreak of powerful fusion monsters in the Darklands. She panicked a bit when she heard that, wondering if Jack was alright.

“Jack and Tetrax successfully stopped the outbreak before it reached past the Forsaken Valley,” Dexter explained, tapping the part of the Darklands map where the fight occurred. “Nobody was hurt, thankfully.”

Relief flooded Frankie and then mild awe. She knew Jack was a trained fighter, but she never knew just how good he truly was. There’d been a lot of triceraclaws, tar titans and even a few shellworms that spawned in the part between Green Maw and the Precipice. They were some of Fuse’s most powerful creatures, and any fighter who told her about them did it with a shiver up their spine.

Frankie wasn’t sure if she would’ve been able to handle one of those on her own, much less dozens.

Thankfully things slowed down considerably after the outbreak, to the point where many fighters went around actively looking for something to do. Frankie could only give them so many missions before she had to send them away to their guide and go into her house rubbing her temples, wondering what she was going to do for dinner.

For once her schedule wasn’t loaded.

One cool afternoon had her outside, hanging up laundry to dry. There were a few clouds in the sky, and the wind was cold but gentle.

She didn’t notice Jack until he stood about two yards from her, where she had her back turned.

“Hello, miss Frankie,” He greeted mildly and Frankie almost jumped at his voice. She’d had a few too many nights where his voice and laugh were all she thought about before she went to sleep, and hearing it behind her made her face heat up at the memory.

She turned her head and saw the warrior with a brown bag slung over his shoulder, his dark eyes observing her quietly. He looked tired, but his smile was genuine. “Hey,” She replied lightly, throwing another blanket over the clothesline. “The dryers are broken again.”

Frankie clipped the blanket into place, and smiled at Jack. “Wanna come in? There are cookies and tea in the kitchen.”

“Yes, if I am not troubling you.”

“Not at all.” She went in through the back with the samurai following. She felt a little embarrassed as the kitchen was messier than usual, with Bloo’s blueberry pancake mix all over the counter and the pots and pans from breakfast stacked beside the sink.

“Sorry about the mess,” She threw back over her shoulder sheepishly, and Jack replied, “It’s fine. It actually smells nice in here, like-”

“Blueberries and bread,” Frankie finished for him with a grin. “Bloo loves using blueberries for his pancakes whenever he insists on making breakfast. They’re expensive though, so I only get them whenever there’s leeway on the grocery budget. Go ahead and have a seat.”

She began pouring the herbal tea into some mugs, wondering whether if Jack came by because he had nothing else to do or if he actually made time to see her. It did seem a bit slow in the Darklands, but knowing that he remembered her invitation made warmth bloom in her chest.

Turning with mugs in hand and walking to the table where Jack was seated, Frankie was about to set Jack’s drink on the table but the samurai reached up and took the tea with both hands, his fingers brushing against hers. Frankie’s breath caught and she tried not to look nervous as he looked up at her.

“Thank you,” he said, and his eyes caught the light of the window. They were dark brown, and warm. “Sure,” Frankie replied, and her voice came out higher than she expected. She sat at one of the end chairs beside Jack and blew the steam off the tea’s surface, cradling her favorite mug in her hands and savoring the warmth.

“How have you been?” Jack asked her, and she hummed a bit before replying. “I’m alright. Hoping that the repairman will stop by tomorrow and fix some of the dryers. At least today’s nice enough to do laundry outside.” The way she said it seemed so normal, like they got used to planning their lives around the war.

She sipped some of the tea, and winced. It wasn’t as good as the last time she made it. She made a note to add more sugar.

“I heard you had some trouble in the Darklands.”

Jack’s eyes flicked towards the window, then down at his cup. “There was a higher number of monsters on the borders than usual. They were of the weaker sort though, and easy to defeat.”

“Wow. You saying that shellworms are easy to defeat makes me feel inadequate.” The corners of Jack’s mouth turned up a bit when she said that. “You have not been trained in combat your entire life as I have. That does not mean you’re inadequate.”

She watched him uneasily as he took a drink of the tea, hoping it wasn’t so bitter that he wouldn’t like it. But it seemed to be the opposite, as his dark eyes lit up. “This tea is very good,” He commented, and Frankie’s face broke into a smile.

“Really? I thought it tasted sort of bitter.”

“It’s the perfect amount of light and sweet,” He replied with a genuine ring in his voice, and Frankie flushed. The only other people who complimented her tea were Mac and Wilt, Mac because he was a nice kid and Wilt because he was, well, Wilt.

Frankie suddenly shot up from her chair. “Darn, I forgot the cookies.” Before she could walk towards the cabinet, Jack stopped her with, “Actually, I have something that you might like. I gathered them in the Twisted Forest.”

He bent down and rummaged through the bag, bringing up a deep red papaya-shaped fruit with blue and orange spots. It was large in Jack’s hand, and Frankie eyed it with a raised brow.

“What is that?” She asked, sitting down slowly. Jack took it in both hands and began to split it, the fruit making a wet, crunchy noise. The inside of it was a pale yellow with little black seeds.

“I do not know, exactly,” he admitted. “The operatives at Camp Kidney have started calling it snap fruit, because of the noise it makes when you open it. To me it tastes a little like dragon fruit.” He finished splitting it and offered her the larger half.

Frankie chuckled and took it. “I’ve never had dragon fruit.” The skin of the fruit had tiny round bumps that pressed into her palm, and Frankie stroked her thumb over it. “It smells good,” She commented idly, and she felt Jack’s eyes on her as she took a small bite out of it.

It tasted like kiwi but somehow lighter and sweeter, and it crunched like an apple under her bite. A little bit of the juice dribbled onto her chin, and her tongue moved to swipe it up. It was the most peculiar fruit she’d ever tasted, and she really, really liked it.

“It’s delicious,” She said, genuinely surprised, and then it was Jack’s turn to smile broadly.

They talked more about the places they’d been, and some of the ridiculous missions they had to send the fighters on. One question had been itching the back of Frankie’s mind, but she refused to ask it. She and Jack were both busy people, and had no time to do what Frankie was thinking of.

But it seemed that Jack was aware of her inner turmoil and gently said, “You seem uneasy about something.”

By now their mugs were empty, and the snap fruit they shared was sitting snugly in her belly. She wiped the sticky juice off her hands with a napkin and smiled nervously at Jack. “Well, it’s kind of a weird thing to ask you…”

Jack’s deep black eyes took in her expression and blinked. She could tell he was waiting for her question, although before she could actually tell him, he stated, “You would like me to teach you fighting techniques.”

Her mouth hung open for a second, and then she shut it as her face turned pink. “It’s dumb for me to ask that of you, isn’t it? I mean, you’ve probably got way too many things to worry about as it is.” She looked down and tapped her thumbs on the sides of the mug she was holding.

“The answer is yes.”

Frankie’s eyes widened and she looked back up at him. “Really?” She said, and her voice sounded a little too excited to her ears. Jack’s answer still seemed a little unreal to her, but he nodded in reply. “I understand that you would like to learn them in self-defense, should you ever need to protect yourself or your home. I can teach you taijutsu, and perhaps some sword techniques.”

It sounded almost too good to be true. A warrior like Jack showing her how to fight. It also meant that she could be sure of seeing him again, and the thought made her stomach do a happy little flip.

“When would you like me to teach you?” Jack asked her as his hands left his cup and lay flat on the table stretched towards her. Her eyes followed the movement and stayed on his hands, and for a fleeting moment she wanted to reach out and hold them. They looked large enough to envelope her own hands.

“I guess the next time you’re free,” She answered, tearing her eyes away from his hands. “I can come by next week, if you’d like,” Jack said, moving his hands back to holding the mug. “Perhaps around the same time?”

Frankie’s face lit up. “Sure, that’d be cool.” Jack smiled a bit and Frankie got up from the table, moving to the sink to rinse her mug. After she rinsed, she sighed a little at the sheer stack of plates waiting to be washed. While plenty of the plates could go in the dishwasher, there were still others that needed to be washed by hand. Her hands got tired just thinking about it.

Jack came up beside her with his own mug, but when she reached for it he shook his head and rinsed it himself before he rolled up his sleeves. Grabbing one of the plates and a sponge at the edge of the sink, he started to clean it, much to Frankie’s surprise.

“Jack, that’s sweet of you, but don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of the dishes.” Jack suddenly reached past her to grab the dish soap sitting on the counter behind her. For a moment, his face was only inches from hers, and Frankie’s breath caught in her throat. “Please. Allow me to do it, as a thank you for your company,” His words brushed her lips and suddenly he was turned away from her, scrubbing a spot on one of the plates.

Frankie remembered how to breathe again, but now all she could stare at was the way his bicep curled as he wiped around the plate’s edge. She sighed, grinning as she stuck the stopper in the sink and began to run the water.

“Alright, if you insist,” She said, grabbing a plate of her own.

With Jack’s help, the dishes were done twice as fast, and for that Frank was very happy. She had time to fold the clothes now and order pizza for dinner. Jack left the rest of the snap fruit with her, promising to bring more the next time he came as long as she promised to make the herbal tea again.

“Thank you,” She said to him, meaning it. “Do not mention it,” He replied as he walked out the back door and onto the porch. Frankie walked out with him and smelled the rain in the air. ‘Uh oh, she thought, ‘better start bringing those clothes in.’

“I’m glad I asked you to train me,” She finally said, and Jack turned to her with a small smile.

“You didn’t ask. I offered.”

Frankie snorted and punched him on the arm. “I was _going_ to ask you.”

Jack’s smile grew wider. “When, I wondered? You couldn’t seem to get the question past your lips.” That was something Frankie couldn’t deny, but she still pouted at him, and he chuckled. It was that low chuckle again, and it shivered in Frankie’s chest.

There weren’t as many fighters hanging around the home as usual, since Frankie didn’t have a lot for them to do. Nonetheless, most of them stopped to stare at Jack in awe as he walked back into the woods, Frankie watching him until she couldn’t see the white of his yukata anymore.

As she brought the clothes in and began to fold them, she wondered what the first session of their training was going to be like. Was he going to be hard to please? Or would he praise her for everything she did right? She doubted that she was going to do anything right, but still…

It meant she got to see him again.

Frankie began to hum as she set the folded shirt onto the growing stack, listening to the rain hitting the windows.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jack and Frankie have their first training session.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it's been a while since I updated this story, but the reason was because I had the third chapter mostly completed, but just sort of sitting there in my files. But since I've gotten good feedback recently, I decided to finish and post it. Thank you guys SO much for the positive reviews and kudos, they give me life :D

The following week seemed to stretch on forever. Luckily the dryers were repaired, but now she had a broken toilet to worry about. One of the friends thought it would be funny to see all the things that could be flushed down a toilet, and, unsurprisingly, they finally flushed something that clogged the stupid thing.

 Nobody was willing to step forward and admit who the friend was, but Frankie already had a good idea as to who did it.

“I swear to god, once I get my hands on Cheese, I’ll…” She continued the rest of her mumbled curses while she worked hard at plunging the toy car out of the toilet. It came out eventually, and she made sure to throw it in the incinerator.

After she took a short, cold shower she went shopping. The grocery store always had special sales on Friday, and she managed to get all she needed without going over the budget. One of the grocery workers, a young teenage boy, happily offered to take her cart out and help her put the groceries into the van.

She gave him a five in thanks for his help, and the boy blushed when she smiled at him. He was a short, skinny little guy with a high-pitched voice and a face full of acne, so it was understandable he would find her pretty.

The area that Frankie did her errands in was deemed a ‘safe place’; In other words, no fusions ever spawned there and it had a high number of the older Resistance fighters patrolling it. She cranked up the radio and began her drive home, but then she remembered something as she neared her house.

She needed equipment for the next time Jack came to visit. She already had a place in the house picked out for their training session; an empty room that imaginary friends never hung out in because it was, well, empty.

While some of the friends helped Frankie unload the groceries, she was already making another list in her head. Madame Foster gave her a weekly ‘personal’ budget of about $200, refusing to call it a paycheck. She normally used some of it to buy the things the house needed but didn’t have the money for, and saved the rest of it in a box under her bed.

Well, now she had a good reason to use it.

As soon as they finished putting everything up in the kitchen, Frankie was on her way to the local sporting store. She couldn’t remember the last time she walked into a place like this, and nearly shied away from the first tan blonde worker who came up to her.

The worker was actually pretty helpful, showing her where the exercise mats were, and the workout clothing that was on sale. She picked out some shorts and yoga pants, and decided that she would just wear some plain t-shirts instead of the fancy microfiber moisture-wicking shirts.

On her way to the register, however, her eyes caught a striped pink tank lying neatly folded on a table. She took it to the changing room first, and when she took off her hoodie and shirt she looked in the mirror and sighed.

She was so _skinny_. She was just above an a-cup and her hips were a little too narrow for her liking. Normally she never cared about how her body looked, but Jack didn’t seem like he was into girls who were shaped more like boys.

She tried on the tank, and was amazed at the way it hugged her curves like she had some. Not to mention it was super soft, and on sale. She decided that since she had some spare cash, it was meant to be.

Once she got home, she laid out the largest mat in the middle and placed the other two in random corners. But then she decided they didn’t look right, and laid them in different places until she was satisfied with the way the room looked.

Jack wasn’t coming for another couple days, so she kept the door locked, just in case. She forced herself to get up in the mornings and jog a few miles before breakfast, so she wouldn’t be so badly out of shape when she met Jack.

She was never in bad shape in the first place; running around the house and cleaning it constantly gave her some exercise, she supposed. But as far as workouts went, she was hopeless. She knew Jack had to be ridiculously in shape considering his lifestyle required it.

She thought about what he’d look like shirtless. Probably ripped, with a fair amount of muscle in all the right places. She could already tell he had muscular arms when he rolled up his sleeves and allowed Frankie a tease-worth of skin. His abs probably wouldn’t be perfectly shaped, because his muscles would be out of necessity, but a shirtless Jack would still be very, very drool-worthy.

She became a little lost in her daydreaming as she made lunch, thinking about Jack’s hands and how calloused they’d be from wielding his sword all the time. His hands were every bit a man’s hands, and the thought of them holding her own hands delicately made Frankie’s face heat up.

Would he be touching her a lot when they trained? Steadying her hands, rotating her arms, holding her by the hips as he positioned her into a proper fighting stance? ‘Accidentally’ touching her butt and both of them laughing it off but then the next time it happened, he kept it there and smirked at her?

Maybe he’d pin her to the floor, holding her by the hips and making her feel helpless in the sexiest way possible. They’d both be breathing hard, or maybe it would just be her because now Jack was leaning down and pressing his lips against hers. They’d be gentle, and a little chapped. She’d make a noise against his mouth and he’d chuckle, sliding his warm, calloused hand under her shirt slowly…

Damn it, damn it, _damn it_ , the chicken was burning.

Frankie hastily turned off the heater and waved off the smoke. Wilt poked his head in and asked if everything was alright, and Frankie told him yes before shooing him away. She really shouldn’t be getting turned on while making lunch, but now she wanted to see Jack again more than ever.

 

* * *

 

 

Finally the day came for their first training session.

Frankie made sure to get all the chores done before ten, which was the time she was expecting Jack to show up. A lot of the friends noticed how fast she was working that day, and when they asked her she just smiled and told them she was expecting company.

She put on her exercise outfit, fixing her hair in the mirror. She glanced at the clock, which read 10:03, and felt her heart begin to race. He could be here any minute.

Damn it, she forgot the tea!

Running out of her room, Frankie began to trek downstairs when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it!” Bloo yelled, and before Frankie could stop him, he was already yanking it open. The next thing that came out of Bloo’s mouth was the world’s longest breath intake as his eyes grew impossibly wide at the samurai standing before him with a mildly sheepish look.

“Wuahahaha! Is it you?! Is it really you?! Oh my god, I can’t believe it! I am SUCH a big fan!”

Bloo was jumping up and down so fast he was only a blur. Frankie nearly tripped in her haste to get down the stairs, but Bloo was already turning around and yelling as loud as he could, “Hey everybody! SAMURAI JACK IS AT THE FRONT DOOR!”

For such a small guy, his voice could wake up the dead. And he was about to join them for not keeping his mouth shut.

“Bloo!” Frankie yelled at him, but that was the only word she could get out before nearly every single imaginary friend in the house was at the front door, a swarm of them gasping and yelling in excitement. She had to start squeezing past them at the bottom of the staircase, ducking and nudging them aside, trying to get a visual on Jack.

“ ’Scuse me, coming through,” She had to yell over the other voices, and over that she could hear Bloo talking at a hundred miles an hour to the poor samurai, probably asking over and over again if he could see his sword.

It seemed like Jack wasn’t going to be able to talk in the more or less one-sided conversation. Frankie finally made it to the front of the crowd, and when Jack saw her his smile widened; whether it was because he was happy to see her or because he knew Frankie was about to take him away from the little blue chatterbox asking him a million questions, she wasn’t sure. Probably both.

She reached out and grabbed Jack by the hand, glaring at Bloo. “Thanks for letting everyone know that Jack was here.”

Bloo beamed up at her. “No problem!” Frankie growled, but it was hard to stay mad when her hand was holding Jack’s, the warmth of his fingers seeping into hers. She began to navigate with him through the crowd of friends, all of them trying to be louder than the other to get his attention.

When they finally made it to the room, she let go of Jack’s hand and tried to make the thudding in her chest slow down to a normal pace. She started to jump up and grab the key at the top of the door, and frowned when she remembered that she’d actually used a stepladder to put it there.

Mr. Herriman likely moved it back to the utility closet. She turned to Jack and smiled sheepishly before saying. “Hold on. I gotta go grab the stepladder and get the key.”

Jack stared at her before walking forward, and Frankie’s eyes widened as he stepped close enough to make her move until her back hit the door. Her stomach began doing those little flips again and heat began to creep into her face as Jack kept his eyes locked on hers, standing close enough to where she could see the flecks of brown in them.

He was at least 7 inches taller than her, as Frankie couldn’t even see over his shoulder. He smelled amazing, clean and a little musky like the earth after rain. He began to reach out towards her, and Frankie’s heartbeat reached a rapid staccato, pounding against her ribcage.

“Jack, I…um…”

She clamped her eyes shut, feeling his warm, even breaths against her face. Was this really happening? Was he already going to kiss her?

Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh yes-

Suddenly she heard a quiet scrape of metal against wood as her eyes fluttered open, confused. Jack was smiling at her as he held the key in his hand. “Is this what you needed?” His voice came out low and smooth, as he reached past Frankie to push the key into the door’s lock and click it open.

Frankie’s face was hot for an entirely different reason now. “Yeah, um, thanks,” She replied, reaching behind her to gingerly grasp the doorknob and turn it, opening it up to the room. She turned around quickly and walked in, relieved to see that nothing in the room had budged.

“Is this okay?” She asked him as he took in the nearly empty room. He nodded, and Frankie glowed on the inside at his approval. “It will very well do,” He replied, placing his bag onto the ground before leaning up to stretch a bit.

Frankie watched his muscles move under the fabric and turned away quickly, swallowing hard. Maybe these training sessions were a mistake. Or maybe they were the best thing that’s happened to her in a while.

“How much time is available for you?”

Frankie was snapped back to attention by Jack’s voice and replied, “At least an hour, maybe an hour and a half if Herriman doesn’t find something to complain about before then.”

Jack walked to the mat in the middle and she followed, hands clasped behind her.

“We shall start with some warm-up before moving into any serious exercise,” He said as he began to lean over slowly, stretching his fingers until they touched his toes. Frankie groaned internally, but did the same, trying to ignore the muscles in her legs that were screaming at her.

After about five seconds of doing this, Jack straightened himself up again and Frankie followed suit. “Again,” he said, leaning down once more and Frankie tightened her lips to prevent a noise from leaving them as she leaned over once more, straining to touch her toes.

It seemed to take even longer this time before Jack straightened up again, and when Frankie did the same he started to lean down once more.

“Again.”

‘You’ve gotta be kidding me’ Frankie cried out in her mind but she forced herself to lean over, trying not to lock up the crying muscles in her back and legs as the tips of her fingers brushed her shoes. It seemed close to forever before Jack stood up again.

“And now we shall do lunges.” A few lunges and some more screaming muscles later, Frankie stood beside Jack on slightly shaky legs. Jack turned to her and Frankie stared at him, eager to get to the fun part that probably involved lots of touching.

“What’s next?” She asked him, and his answer caught her off guard. “Sit ups.”

“Oh, okay.” She tried not to be as clumsy as she felt while she sat down on the mat and stretched out her legs. Jack got down on his knees and held her feet down, and his hands felt solid and unyielding, the warmth of them seeping past Frankie’s shoes.

She leaned backwards until her back hit the mat, and stared up at the ceiling. “Try to do ten sit-ups,” Jack’s voice reached her ears and she complied, keeping her fingers locked behind her head as she sat up. She kept her eyes closed, trying to focus on keeping her breathing in check.

Frankie fell back to the floor and took a deep breath before sitting up once more. Two…three…four… fi-

“Hold this one,” Jack said with his voice close enough to make butterflies dance in Frankie’s stomach. Her entire body froze, the only movement coming from her chest rising up and down rapidly. She kept her eyes screwed shut, knowing that if she opened them and saw Jack’s face right in front of hers, she’d likely do something embarrassing.

About five seconds passed before Jack said, “Good, now lie down.” It took the rest of Frankie’s willpower not to flop back onto the floor. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, and then sat up once more. Six…seven…eight…nine…her knees began to bend more and more without her realizing it.

“Hold it,” Jack said in the middle of her tenth sit-up, and she inhaled sharply, keeping her body locked in place. She opened her eyes and saw the brown-black of Jack’s eyes staring into her own, his breath brushing her face. So much for keeping her breathing in check.

Five more seconds passed, and they dragged by slowly but somehow not slowly enough. “Good, Frankie,” Jack said in a low voice, his words touching her lips. Frankie leaned back onto the mat and forced the heat in her face down, feeling Jack’s hands leave her feet.

“Now,” Jack’s voice was farther away now as he stood up, “We shall practice basic taijutsu techniques.”

The rest of the session went smoothly, and, as it turned out, Jack was quite touchy during their exercises much to Frankie’s delight. He showed Frankie how to throw a proper punch, pushing against her back slightly with his hand. “Make sure you put your whole body into your strike.”

“Yes sir,” She said with a determined smile, making the air feel the force of her weight behind her punch. “Good girl,” Jack said with a smile and Frankie felt her face grow red at the praise that she was sure to hear in her sleep tonight.

 After an hour and fifteen minutes’ worth, they moved to stretching before wrapping up their session. Frankie knew she was going to be all kinds of sore in the morning, but she couldn’t care less right now. Jack was telling her about when he trained in Athens as a boy, and how early he had to get up every morning to run 5 miles to the shore and back.

Frankie stretched her arms behind her back, trying to mimic Jack’s own graceful movements as she asked, “Did you ever train with the Spartans? What was that like?”

Jack grimaced a bit as his body slid into another position. It was almost unfair just how fluidly he did everything. “Awful,” He replied in a flat voice, and Frankie burst into laughter before she could stop herself.

“We had to run ten miles every day with weights tied to our legs and arms. And when we sparred, the boys would hit hard enough to knock the breath out of me. The girls’ punches were somehow even worse.”

Frankie’s laughter abruptly stopped as her eyes widened. “Really?”

“Oh yes,” Jack answered her stunned reply, “The Spartans had taught me to never underestimate a woman. Especially after their queen once lifted me like I weighed nothing and slammed me headfirst onto the ground when I told her she couldn’t possibly suplex me. Even their beds were unforgiving. One blanket to cover the ground and nothing else. I would have slept better on a boulder.”

The last part made Frankie shriek with laughter as she stopped her stretching to wipe the tears from her eyes. “The Spartan queen took you to suplex city, that is amazing.” Jack’s smile broadened. “That is an interesting way of putting it.” Without even pausing his sentence he slid down into the splits, making Frankie throw her arms up at him. “Oh come on!”

Jack chuckled, his smile now challenging. “It just takes practice. Slide down until you have one leg stretched behind you and the other foot flat on the ground. Like this.” He moved into the position, the tips of his fingers pressing onto the mat.

Thinning her lips into a nervous line, Frankie dropped to the ground and awkwardly tried to imitate him, mumbling, “I swear, if I get stuck like this…” She could tell Jack was biting back a laugh as he flexed his foot up and leaned forward, sliding back into the splits. Frankie tried to do the same and yelped as she popped a muscle in her groin and fell sideways.

“Sweet mother Theresa, that smarts!”

Jack turned his face from her but she knew he was biting his lip hard, his body shaking with silent laughter. “Don’t you dare laugh, or I’ll hit you like a Spartan girl,” she growled at him, hissing as she tried to massage the stinging cramp out of her leg muscles.

Jack replied, his voice half-laugh and half-mock. “Oh no, anything but that,” He turned back to smirk at her as Frankie felt her face burn. “Although if you’d like, our next session could involve running barefoot over jagged rocks. Turns the bottom of your feet into leather.”

Frankie squinted at him, before lunging forward to grab him by the waist. “If you’re so disciplined, that means you can’t be ticklish, right?” She grazed her fingers over his waist teasingly, making the samurai flinch. “I never said-”

Frankie already knew what his answer was, and began to tickle him mercilessly. It was Jack’s turn to yelp as he fell over and tried to squirm away from her hands, and Frankie laughed maniacally. “The great Samurai Jack can’t handle a tickle attack.”

She moved her hands to tickle his stomach, but then Jack grabbed them. His eyes narrowed dangerously, and Frankie tensed before smiling sheepishly at him. In a matter of seconds, he had pushed her onto her back and now Frankie found herself at the receiving end of a tickle attack that left her screaming with laughter and begging him to stop.

But the grin on Jack’s face as his hands turned her into a howling mess told her that he wasn’t planning to stop just because she asked. His fingers danced over her sides and down her stomach, and when Frankie flipped over and tried to crawl away, he grabbed her ankle and pulled her back, making her eyes widen as she felt his fingers at her waist again.

“It seems that the great Frankie Foster is also ticklish,” Jack said teasingly as he moved his hands down to tickle the space right behind her knee. Frankie kicked her leg back but Jack seemed to anticipate that since her foot met nothing but air.

“Oh my god, you’re merciless,” She said, half-sobbing with laughter, turning over to grab at Jack’s wrists but the warrior dodged her effort and pinned her by the shoulders. “Trust me, Miss Frankie,” He rumbled, smirking down at her, “I could be much, much worse.”

Frankie was trying to catch her breath, her voice a bit shaky. “Oh? I’d like to see that. You gonna make me run to Pokey Oaks gazebo and back with weights tied to my arms and legs?”

“Don’t give me any ideas now.”

“Or are you going to take my bed out of my room and replace it with a nice, comfy boulder?”

“I just might.”

“How about taking me to suplex city, Spartan style?”

“Not unless you wish to spend some time in the hospital.”

“Wrestling naked like the Athenians?”

“Would you like to go to dinner first?”

“Miss Frances!” Herriman’s voice instantly snapped Frankie out of her playful mood as she and Jack whipped their heads over at the large rabbit standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. His foot thumped the ground in the way that meant Frankie was going to have some explaining to do.

Quick as lightning, Jack stood up, thinning his lips at Mr. Herriman as he offered a hand to Frankie. Frankie took his hand and stood up, suddenly finding herself fascinated with the lines on the floor.

“I see that you have been making progress with your afternoon chores, Miss Frances. What exactly are you two doing?”

“Training,” Jack replied, trying to keep the smile out of his voice as Frankie glanced at him with a raised brow. Herriman scoffed and adjusted his monocle. “It certainly did not sound like training what with all the screaming that could I could hear downstairs.”

Frankie felt her face turn a shade redder at the rabbit’s unknowingly provocative words and gave him an annoyed frown. “I’ll finish my chores okay? Jack was just teaching me defense techniques.”

Herriman stared at her pointedly. “I’m not sure why a young lady such as yourself would need to know how to fight. We already have plenty of people in this war as it is.”

“Mr. Herriman, sir,” Jack began, and the rabbit looked at him with slightly flared nostrils, “please understand that miss Frankie may need to know these techniques in order to properly defend the Foster home, should the need ever arise. She’s proven to be quite the capable pupil.”

Jack’s compliment made Frankie’s face warmer still, as Mr. Herriman gave the two of them a hard look before finally replying with, “Yes, I can see now why this all may be necessary. You may continue with these… training sessions as long as they do not interfere with Miss Frances’ schedule. And as long as you keep them quiet.”

“Yes, sir,” Frankie and Jack said at the same time, and Frankie bit her lip to keep from smiling.

“Good. Now, Miss Frances and… Mr. Jack, was it? Please excuse me, for I have business to tend to.” Turning on his heel, the Mr. Herriman began to hop away as properly as a large rabbit could. Once they could no longer hear him, Frankie muttered, “Sorry about that,” as she looked at a wall corner and scratched her head.

Jack smiled faintly. “It is fine. I hope it is alright if I excuse myself as well. I believe Tetrax has been trying to contact me, possibly to know when I am coming back.” Frankie turned to look at him, and saw that he was holding his communicator, staring down at it with a furrowed brow.

“You’ll come by next week, right?” Frankie tried not to sound too hopeful, knowing that it may not be possible for the warrior. “Of course,” Jack replied, his eyes warming as he looked at her. “I promised to train you, after all. And I find our time together rather enjoyable.”

“Oh. Yeah, same,” Frankie’s insides felt funny after he said that, beginning to hope beyond all hope that their feelings were mutual. That an amazing guy like Jack would be attracted to the plain, awkward girl-next-door that was Frankie Foster.

She grinned and patted his arm, trying not to let her hand linger on it, because damn, his bicep was _solid_. “Here, let me show you out. Oh, and um, could you make sure to use the back door next time?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Why do all of my fluffier interactions dissolve into tickle attacks?!) Here's hoping that the latest season of Samurai Jack doesn't get stalled. Fun side-note: I met Phil Lamarr, the voice actor for Jack and he is an absolute sweetheart! If only he wasn't already married lol. Who knows, maybe I'll meet the voice actress for Frankie someday :)


End file.
